A Few More Owl Shots-Flight Shots

A Few More Owl Shots-Head Shots

Click any photo to see large.

It's Been A Slow Summer For Wildlife

I've been going thru a bit of a dry spell with my wildlife photography obviously. It's been sooo long since my last post. Over the past few months, I've been looking forward to the fawns and kits and babies in general to pass my time through late spring into fall. That hasn't happened. I've seen just 2 fawns with no good shots of them. I haven't seen any fox kits, nor a raccoon baby or much of anything in these recent months. But, my luck might have changed for the better, given that I ran into my old friend the Barred Owl on Friday. It's been since early spring since I've spent any time with this guy. He has disappeared for the most part, all summer long. Luckily, as I cruised his area on Friday, I happened across a migrant bird calling in the distance so I thought I might park the car and wait for a closer view. While waiting ole Mr. Barred gave a contact call deep into the timber. I gave out my own impression of a barred owl call back to him and he responded. We talked for quite a bit until he showed himself about 10 minutes later. I was very happy to see him. His ole lady showed up too, but at a distance. She wouldn't get in close, which is weird for her, but maybe she's protecting her juvies? I can only hope!

Click on photo to enlarge.

Caption Contest Winner-Colleen!

Caption Contest!, originally uploaded by Hannibals Animals.

Check out the comments for all of the submissions. All were very clever! Thanks to all of you witty peeps who participated! I laughed alot!

The winning entry was by Colleen! She wrote: "Lord I apologize and please be with the starving pygmies down in New Guinea. Amen." For those of you who don't "get it"? Larry the Cable Guy, more famous for the phrase: "Git-R-Done" also said the above phrase and used it as the title of his comedy album. So there you have it. Colleen wins because I laughed the loudest!

Butt Heads

Butt Heads, originally uploaded by Hannibals Animals.

Out of the ordinary for me to take photos of captive animals, but I decided to snap a few pics while chasing a Cattle Egret who settled in with these cows. The cows gave me a photo op I couldn't resist!

Yellow-billed Cuckoo-Lifer!

Yellow-billed Cuckoo-Lifer!, originally uploaded by Hannibals Animals.

I had a bit of luck while distracted by shooting some pheasant chicks. I hear that distinctive call only cuckoos make behind me. That will get your blood flowing...
It took a little while but after hearing him throughout the woods in different locations, I decided to switch spots and found a pine squirrel climbing a tree. Waiting for him to come into view, a cuckoo flies into that very same tree. I shot away, trying to get angles of him around the leaves. He hopped from here to there, and then a bit of rustling of leaves, and 2 cuckoos flew away. What a lucky day!

Outdoor Illinois Magazine

My first publication outside of Grundy County. (For those of you who don't know, I do a feature bi-monthly for GO Magazine [Grundy's Own] called "Grundy Gone Wild".- See my Flickr Sets called "Published" for back issues)

I was thrilled to be a part of Outdoor Illinois Magazine, especially because of the subject matter. Rarities!

This Silver Fox was photo'd in Kankakee, IL this past November. To my knowledge, it hasn't been seen since. Lucky me! I've been saving this photo to share since then, and am proud to have it displayed state-wide. Other photos of this fox can be seen in these sets: Foxes, Oddities, 2010.

Click on any image to read article.

The Blonde Squirrel and the Albino White-tailed Doe are my images. The Leucistic Pileated Woodpecker is by Steve Patterson (Illini Images)

The Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk is my image. The Slider is by Chris Philiips and the Leucistic Bat is by Tim Carter.